


play a simple melody (bi bi birdie remix)

by retweet_this



Category: Crooked Media RPF
Genre: Self-Discovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-10-21 16:34:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20696639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/retweet_this/pseuds/retweet_this
Summary: “Okay, I have to ask - is this a sex thing for you two?”





	play a simple melody (bi bi birdie remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [R_Knight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_Knight/gifts).

> Remix of [an old sweet song](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18431621) by [R_Knight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_Knight/pseuds/R_Knight)

“So, you guys do this a lot?”

“Do what?” Jon’s head is still swimming, he’s still catching his breath, and he can’t imagine how his partner is not only sitting upright but also able to text on her phone. He can barely remember his own name, let alone hers.

“Your friend picking up girls for you to go home and sleep with.”

Jon shrugs, pushing himself up by his elbows. “I mean, sometimes.” He shrugs again. “It’s just like, just a thing we sometimes do. You know, two single guys in the city, not looking for anything serious, just some fun. You know the type.”

“Oh yeah, totally,” she nods, then pauses a moment, biting her lip. “Okay, I _have_ to ask - is this a sex thing for you two?”

That’s enough to jerk Jon out of his post-coital haze as he immediately shoots up straight. “What - no - I - we - _no_!”

“I’m joking, I’m joking!” she all but cackles. “Looks like _someone_ is not all too confident in his heterosexuality.” He doesn’t have a response to that, so he just sits there and watches her put on the bra she’d thrown across the room and slip back into her dress.

“Do you - do you want me to call you a cab?” he finally asks.

“No, no, it’s fine, I can get one myself.” She smooths out the wrinkles on her dress and picks up her purse, throwing him a smile. “I had a good time.”

He smiles back. “I did too.” Of course, it’s never going to happen again, that goes without saying on both their parts.

She leaves the bedroom door open when she heads out and he hears the front door slam a few moments later, though he doesn’t _quite_ hear it because he’s still replaying her words in his head.

_Is this a sex thing for you two?_ Is it that weird that he and Tommy go out every couple of nights to get drinks and hook up with other people? It’s not like they’ve ever, you know, done it at the same time or anything - it’s always separate. Tommy takes a girl to his room and Jon takes a girl to his and there’s little to no overlap.

Well, it might be a _little_ weird to see them together at a bar, especially when they end up taking the girls back to one place for the night if they’re between roommates. But there’s nothing inherently sexual about it. They just. like to do it together. because they’re friends.

There’s a weird feeling in the pit of Jon’s stomach that he blames on hunger. He considers, for a moment, the granola bars and instant oatmeal packets in his pantry, before reaching for his pants. Tommy ought to have food.

He’d forgotten the bruises left on his thighs until he’s sitting down in the back of the taxi, resisting the urge to squirm as the insides of his jeans chafe his sensitive skin. It almost makes him regret not staying in bed.

Tommy opens the door after the second knock and Jon is immediately hit with the distinct scent of weed.

“Hey, Tom,” he hums. “Mind if I come in?”

“Uh, not at all,” Tommy replies. It takes him a second for his body to catch up with his brain to catch up with his mouth and he steps aside to let him through. “What’s up?”

“We ended up going back to my place,” Jon explains, heading to the living room. Each step painfully reminds him of the state of his thighs and, fuck, maybe it’s the secondhand high he’s starting to pick up but the best decision might be to just take off his pants. Tommy shouldn’t mind.

He unbuckles his belt as he continues. “It was only after she’d left that I realized I still hadn’t gone grocery shopping so I thought I’d come here and we could order pizza or something, and -” His pants are almost past his thighs and he turns to look at Tommy. “Are you even listening to me?”

Tommy stares at him for a good couple of seconds before blurting out, “_Really_?” He gestures to his thighs and Jon can’t stifle his grin as he rolls his eyes.

“I’m gonna have to object if you try to call me a horny teenager, Tommy,” he hums. “I’ve seen the necks of the girls that leave your apartment.”

Tommy scoffs. “Liar.” He scoots aside a little to let Jon plop down beside him, his bare thighs pressed against the fabric as his fingers idly trace the marks left behind. He can’t help but wonder, while they’re talking, how many girls Tommy’s had on this very couch - had in both senses of the word, more than once he’s had to excuse himself from the vicinity because Tommy and his date were about to pounce on each other or something.

Though, maybe not for nothing, Tommy’s never outright asked him to leave.

“So you had a good night?” Tommy finally asks. Jon just smiles at him, smug and inviting and just the slightest bit embarrassed about how hard he and his own date had gone at it this evening.

Tommy shakes his head and throws him a smirk, and Jon can see his next words rip right through his filters as he asks, “What’d you do, then?” He looks interested. He looks really interested.

Jon tells him.

-

The bar is packed and Jon’s stool is wobbly, causing him to press against Tommy’s arm to keep his balance. Tommy doesn’t seem to mind.

“Weird to see this many people here on a Tuesday,” Jon says over his glass. It’s not that loud but he feels the need to lean closer, just in case Tommy can’t quite hear him.

“We’re here on a Tuesday night,” Tommy points out, nudging his side with his arm. Jon just rolls his eyes and takes a sip of his drink.

“Besides,” he hums, “would you really rather if it were just us at this bar?”

Jon takes a moment to think about it, about them sitting a little too close together in one of the booths, knees brushing under the table. He thinks about the time when they did go out and found a near-empty bar and tried to teach each other pool, Tommy’s breath against his neck as he stands behind him, his right hand over his, laughing in his ear when Jon completely misses his shot.

He opens his mouth. “Well-”

“I mean _sure_,” Tommy continues, “we _could_ invite some of the guys out with us, but then we wouldn’t have any ladies left for us.” He raises his brows at Jon with a smirk.

“Right.” Jon smiles back. “Ladies.”

Tommy finishes his drink with one more sip, then starts to stand. “I’ll be right back.” He claps Jon’s arm as he goes, fingers trailing slightly against his back until he moves too far away for any more contact and Jon is left with his drink.

He scans the bar idly, half-wondering where Tommy went and half-trying to see if anyone is looking his way, when someone taps him on the shoulder.

Jon starts to smile as he turns around but no, it’s not Tommy, it’s someone else with blonde hair and a well-built body and a dashing grin. “Excuse me,” he says, “is this seat taken?”

This is not the first time someone has flirted with Jon before. This isn’t even the first time a _guy_ has flirted with Jon before. Jon knows how to flirt with anyone. But something seems to have shifted a few nights ago, he can’t quite place it, and now there’s a guy here flirting with him and suddenly his mouth is dry and he has no idea what he’s doing.

He’s about to respond when there’s a distinct shout of “Jon!” from behind him and he turns around to see Tommy, his Tommy, gesturing him over. There are two girls standing next to him, one blonde and one brunette.

“Be right over!” Jon waves back. He turns around and gives an apologetic look, mumbling a quick “Sorry” as he grabs his drink and leaves.

-

“Are you _sure_ you’re okay?” Beth asks, handing him another tissue. He wipes his face with this one and nods again. “I’m sure.”

She doesn’t look entirely convinced as she shoves 

her pack of tissues back in her purse, biting her bottom lip. “If I’d known you were a crier I would’ve-”

“I wouldn’t call myself a crier,” Jon chuckles a little, even as he sniffs and wipes his nose. “It just - sometimes happens.” There’s no explanation beyond that, really. Some of his dates find it endearing and they end up staying longer than usual, just to lie around and cuddle with him for the night.

He can tell, however, that Beth isn’t too keen on the idea of comforting him while he’s in this state, so he slides his legs off the side of the bed and reaches for his underwear. “I’m just gonna get myself some water from the kitchen. Do you need anything?”

She shakes her head, then calls out just as he’s reaching for the handle. “Jon?” He turns around. “You were really good.”

Jon can’t help it, he feels his face flush all over again as he ducks his head down and closes the door behind him. He ends up standing by the counter with his glass of water, munching on a granola bar, and his thoughts end up drifting back to the bar.

It's not like he's never been with a guy before - bisexuality is a thing, even if he has been almost exclusively with women since he's been in the city. Which, now that he thinks about it, isn't that kind of weird?

He sits up on the counter and takes a sip of his water, brow furrowed. He'd flirted with some guys back in the early days, sure, but ever since he and Tommy started this whole... thing they're doing, they both stuck exclusively with women. And then the other day, when his date insinuated that what he and Tommy were doing was somehow sexual-

Tommy walks into the kitchen and Jon feels like a deer caught in the headlights. His face flushes and he immediately ducks down, trying to control his response. "Hey, Tommy," he says, after a moment.

"Hey," Tommy says carefully, fuck, does he know Jon is acting weird? Can he tell something is wrong? Can he tell that he's on the verge of some internal crisis about their relationship? Tommy clears his throat and continues. "You have a good night?"

"Good," Jon replies, almost stilted. He quickly adds, "Sorry if you could hear us, I've, uh, never been good at keeping quiet. You have a good night?"

He looks at him for a moment, brow furrowed. "Are you... okay?"

For a second, Jon's eyes widen and he feels himself start to panic, before he remembers, oh yeah, he probably still looks like he'd just been crying. "Oh, it's nothing, I just-" he hesitates, then, well, fuck it why not, lets out a small sigh. "It just happens, sometimes. Like, after sex. I - I don't know why."

"Oh," Tommy says, nodding slowly, like he's processing the information. "It happens," he finally says with a casual shrug. "I'm sure I've read that it's an automatic reaction for some people. You're releasing hormones, right? It makes sense."

Hormones. Weren't hormones supposed to stop being a problem in high school when he was all awkward and growing, not now, making him cry after sex and causing him to fall in-

"Have _you_?" he asks.

He doesn't miss the subtle wince when Tommy responds "Well, no," before quickly adding, "But it happens, it's normal."

He ends up leaning against the counter next to him and tells him all about his night with Pia, about how she hadn't worn a bra, how he got on his knees before her and tugged at his hair, and Jon realizes halfway through that he's not really listening to what Tommy's saying.

He's just watching the way their hands are so close to touching. If Jon just shifted his pinky, just slightly, it would brush against the back of Tommy's hand and then, maybe, just maybe...

"Wow," he says, when Tommy pauses his story to take a breath. "It sounds like you really did have a good night."

-

"I still can't believe you just happened to have a strap-on," Karin says once she comes out of the bathroom. She grabs her bra off the floor and carefully pulls it on. "I mean, just my luck, right?"

"My friends don't call me a Boy Scout for nothing," Jon hums. He's still in bed, lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling, his brain pleasantly buzzed and quiet. It's been a long time since he, you know, and not that he doesn't mind having traditional heterosexual sex, it's still really nice to just let someone else take charge for once.

"It really would've been nice if we could do this again," she continues, now buttoning up her blouse. "I mean, I have no idea when I'll be in town again and even if I am, I don't know if I'll be alone, per se."

Jon shrugs. "I'm sure Tommy wouldn't mind, uh, entertaining your guest." He chuckles at his own joke for a bit and almost fails to notice the look Karin is giving him.

"Not _that_ kind of guest," she says, and his eyes widen with understanding. He awkwardly clears his throat and sits up, pulling his boxers on and fumbling around for his shirt. "Let me call you a cab."

There's a knock on the door as soon as they're out of the bedroom and then next thing they know, Tommy's jangling the keys and opening the door, stepping inside with his date Beth. She smiles when she sees Karin. "Hey, ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me just put on my coat." She slides it over her shoulders and steps before Jon. "I had a great time."

"I did too," Jon smiles, honestly and earnestly, but even as they move in for a goodbye kiss, he tries to spare a glance over at whatever Tommy and Beth are doing. He's pretty sure he sees Tommy try to spare a glance back at him.

The girls leave after a final round of awkward goodbyes, closing the door behind them, and then it's just Jon and Tommy sitting on the sofa together, a glass of water between them. Tommy lets out a long sigh and Jon watches him, trying not to think about, well anything.

"You, uh, staying here tonight?" he finally asks.

Tommy hums an affirmative. "That okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Jon nods. "You'll, uh, have to sleep on the sofa or share with me-" he pauses a moment, trying to remember the last time he did laundry, "although, uh, maybe here is best." He tries a laugh, scratching the side of his jaw. "I don't think I have any spare sheets, so."

It takes Tommy a moment to get what he's trying to say and he makes a face. "Gross," he says, his face betraying the slightest of smiles, as he adds, "I'm sure I've slept in worse, though. Did you, uh..."

There's something in the look Tommy gives him that somehow fills in the blanks for Jon. He thinks about his face pressed against the sheets, Karin's nails digging into his hips while she had two fingers up -

Jon can feel his entire body turning pink. "I'm not saying there's, like, a wet patch, man," he manages to blurt out. "Just. You know."

Tommy, to his credit, doesn't make fun of him, just shakes his head as he finishes his water and follows him to the bedroom. Part of Jon feels ridiculously self-conscious and the other half is too tired to care, content with just stripping off his clothes and climbing under the covers.

He's acutely aware of Tommy's body next to him, the heat and warmth he emits, the light from outside reflecting on his skin. The way he can feel Tommy's exhale, just barely. The distance between them, how if he just leaned forward, just a little, he could just -

"Have you ever spanked a girl?" Tommy suddenly asks.

Something crushes in Jon's chest, and he lies on his back. Right, of course. Girls, it's always girls. He lets out a long breath and doesn't say anything for a moment.

"I've done it before," he says.

-

It's many dates later when Jon finally works up the courage to flirt with a guy around Tommy. Or, rather, he works up the courage to get drunk enough to flirt with a guy in front of Tommy.

Jon's not sure if he's just tipsy or if Rob really is that funny, but he finds himself laughing at pretty much everything the man says. He tries to get Tommy in on the conversation once or twice, nudging his side, "Hey, Tom, did you get that?", but Tommy seems more focused on his drink than anything else.

Eventually, Rob leans in close, whispers in his ear, "Wanna get out of here?" and the first thing Jon does is turn over to Tommy and ask, "Hey, uh, Rob and I are about to head out, I'll see you tomorrow?"

Tommy just stares at her for a few seconds, face unreadable. Then, "Catch you later," and he's walking away before Jon has a chance to say anything more.

Oh, well. He thought he would be able to get out a few more words from him but, well. Jon tries shrugging it off and turns back to Rob with a smile. "Well, uh, I guess I should pay off his tab before we go."

Rob is looking at him thoughtfully. "I thought you said you were single."

"I am," Jon says. He hands his card to the bartender. "It's just - it's our thing, we go to bars, we pick up women, all of us have a fun time - in our separate homes and bedrooms," he quickly adds. "He's - you know, he's probably just tired."

"Uh huh," Rob crosses his arms. "So, you and your friend pick up women together, and he's fine with it, but when you're going home with a guy, all of a sudden he's... like that."

Jon frowns. "He's not homophobic, if that's what you're implying."

"That's not what I'm implying."

The cogs in Jon's brain lock into place and he nearly spills his entire drink on himself. "I - what - we're not - he's not -"

Rob raises his hand. "Jon," he says, "I heard you talking about Tommy all night. I'm sure girls have heard you talk about Tommy too, but they didn't say anything because you still went home with them and not Tommy, and he was fine with it because he wasn't competing with them."

The bar is loud, Jon is pretty drunk, this is not the time or place for some live-changing revelation about his friendship with Tommy. "I still want to sleep with you," he blurts out.

At that, Rob lets out a laugh. "Well, good. I still wanna sleep with you too."

They're making out in the back of a cab and Rob is kissing the side of his neck and Jon wants to be in the moment, he wants to, but all he can think about is when he woke up early one morning and saw Tommy lying next to him. Like he was home.

-

Jon gets to brunch much earlier than he'd planned, after a night that was sleepless for many reasons. Rob gave him plenty of encouragement, some pointers, assurances that everything would go right and he wasn't completely ruining his friendship with Tommy by trying to explain to him that what he felt was something _more_.

His palms feel sweaty even after his shower and his stomach churns and he starts to reconsider everything, when he spots Tommy by the entrance. Their eyes meet and suddenly everything clicks into place. His heart stops thundering and starts beating normally.

Yeah, that's Tommy. That's his best friend. And even if Tommy doesn't feel about him exactly the same way, Jon's gonna make sure this doesn't come between their friendship. He doesn't want to lose him.

Tommy sits down across from him and it takes all of Jon's energy not to blurt it out right there, _I love you._


End file.
